I am currently back training goal is to play WSA tournaments again in 2013 and win Gold at 2014 Commonwealth Games!

I’m excited, but I am taking the training process VERY slowly.

After my injury experience and carrying that injury for so long while trying to continue to train and play and compete, the pain grew worse and the pain in my foot was unbelievable. Once diagnosed with a torn Plantar Fascia I did not accept the diagnosis in my mind because having a foot injury meant staying off my feet and the prospect of that crushed me. All of the hard work I had put into my squash development and training was going to be put to waste was my initial thought process.

I also was upset. I was angry and frustrated at times. But I got through those four months of essentially no squash…and lo and behold… I actually learnt something.

1) If it hurts. STOP!

It took me a long time to finally come to this realization. I’ve always been told, “no pain, no gain” or to “push through the pain.” When you’re so determined and in auto pilot you just ignore the pain and keep going. However, there is a difference between pushing yourself through a difficult part of a workout and pushing yourself through an injury. You will know the difference so trust your instinct and go with your gut, deep down you know that something is wrong and it’s a different pain”.

2) Build up strength, endurance and mental strength slowly.

I had always heard of the 10% rule, but I never followed it. As a young athlete you always want everything all at once. It takes time to build a base fitness, mental strength and skills. It’s frustrating trying to level out your highs and lows to a much steadier line. Don’t get me wrong you will always experience highs and lows but less frequent and less dramatic. I always thought I could increase my improvement quicker than 10%. However, when I did, I got sick, run down and then little niggly injuries popping up here and there. Also, make sure you have a recovery week when you’re feeling exhausted and not waking up feeling fresh and motivated.

3) It is ok to take a little time off.

If you experience some sort of pain, remember its ok to take a little time off. You are not going to immediately lose your cardiovascular stamina and skills in a week. Yes, the first training sessions back your timing might be off and your lungs will take a bit to blow the cob webs out, but you will be right back at it in no time. After not playing squash for four months and tournaments for 12 months, I was afraid that I would not be able to hit the ball with accuracy or structure rallies together again. This was not the case- yes I was a little off my targets and slower with my timing (as it is only early days back into training), but I was not ridiculously out of shape. Trust your body- it’s an amazing thing!

4) If you are coming back from an injury… be patient! Enjoy other forms of exercise!

Not being able to be on court hitting that ball is difficult and frustrating, but take this time to find other forms of exercise. I started spinning, yoga, deep water running, swimming and doing Pilates during my injury time and I really enjoyed it. I have continued to dabble in different cross training exercises as I now need to train a lot smarter less grinding on the body, in an athlete’s world I am not a spring chicken anymore!

When you get back on that court and back into the full swing of things- take it easy! It is hard to hold yourself back as your mind thinks your back to where you were before your injury but if you do too much too soon, your risk of re-injuring yourself is much greater!

5) Figure out WHY or HOW you got injured in the first place.

Did you injure yourself because you over-trained? Or was it because a muscle is weak? If you figure out why or how you got injured, you can take steps to prevent injuries in the future. I have found Pilates is a great way to focus on certain muscles that need individualized training and a great way to analyze what you need to work on to balance your body out.

Personally, my plantar fascia injury was from being so unbalanced and not correcting my mechanics of the way I moved around the court so many thousands of hours doing something the wrong way was the conclusion of putting too much stress on one certain area, that will eventually break down and tear.

I now pay a lot of focus on muscle matting, lying or sitting on a tennis ball and a baseball trigger pointing helps your body undergo soft tissue release, allowing for increased blood flow and it will help to release a build up of toxic metabolic waste (muscle pain is the build-up of metabolic toxic wastes)

You need to take care of yourself and pay a lot of attention to those fine details to keep your body in working condition..

If you have been injured, what did YOU learn from it?